Hands-On With the New MacBook Neo

[MacRumors]

Happy MacBook Neo launch day! Apple's $599 notebook is finally here, and we picked one up to take a look at the new machine and share some first impressions.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

The MacBook Neo looks like a MacBook Air, but a little bit smaller. It comes in fun colors, including Citrus, Blush, and Indigo, plus a plain Silver shade. It's lightweight, has rounded corners, and it's an all-around nice machine, especially compared to bulkier Windows PCs. The display is as bright as the MacBook Air display at 500 nits, and it has nice vivid colors.

The base model comes with a 256GB SSD and no Touch ID button for the color-matched keyboard, but the higher-tier 512GB model priced at $699 does have Touch ID.

Since this is a $599 MacBook, there are some compromises. You only get two USB-C ports and no Thunderbolt, plus no MagSafe or fast charging option. Only one of the USB-C ports is USB3, so you'll need to use that one if you want to connect an external display. It supports a 4K 60Hz display.

The trackpad isn't the same Force Touch trackpad you'll find on the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, but it's just as usable with the exception of the pressure-based options. There is a physical click rather than the Haptic Force Touch click, but the entire button can click so you can press anywhere. The keyboard is identical to the keyboard of the MacBook Air in terms of feel.

Apple designed new speakers for the MacBook Neo, and they're side-firing for the first time. Maximum sound is a little limited, but sound quality is otherwise decent for a laptop. The microphones for video calls are good at isolating out background noise, but the camera is limited to 1080p so it's not quite as good as the camera Apple uses for more expensive MacBook models.

In terms of performance, the MacBook Neo has an A18 Pro chip and it's limited to 8GB RAM, but that's plenty for simple tasks like browsing the web, watching videos, editing documents, and doing homework. In a quick test opening 54 pre-installed apps on the MacBook Neo, it didn't struggle, and it was able to handle all of those apps without an issue.

We're going to do a deep dive into performance and battery life in the future once we've been able to spend more time with the MacBook Neo, so make sure to keep an eye on the site for more videos.

Article Link: Hands-On With the New MacBook Neo

 

[thejadedmonkey]

You have no notch, which people would probably prefer

God no, give me bezels any day, the notch is the worst. Second only to "Dynamic island" on the iPhone.

 

[Godspeed8230]

It’s striking that a laptop costs less than a standard smartphone these days.

 

[Graphikos]

I went to pick one up for my wife today, hoping Costco got some stock. They had some.. but not the color I wanted. I guess we wait 3-4 weeks at this point.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

It’s striking that a laptop costs less than a standard smartphone these days.

It's wild. Computers, including the Neo, are infinitely more useful and interesting than any phone available, I think...but that opinion seems to be in the minority.

 

[Graphikos]

It’s striking that a laptop costs less than a standard smartphone these days.

A 2 liter bottle of soda often costs less than a 20 oz. bottle. And that makes as much sense as the US using both liters and oz. But I think the anology holds up, it's solid... or liquid. idk. glhf.

 

[davebarnes]

I think the colors and the aluminum body are way more important to consumers than analysts ands nerds think they are.
The target market for the NEO is not "RAM aware". For example, my neighbpr just replaced her 5-year-old 24-inch iMac with a new one. I asked her "how much RAM? "I don't know."

 

[Jayht]

This will be perfect for my parents to replace their aging intel MBA.

 

[philosopherdog]

I think it's amazing what they did with the Neo. Apple's Mac should be selling way more than they do and hopefully this will bring in a lot of new users and addict them to Apple's high bar on laptop computers.

 

[bookcase]

I'm loving that citrus color and I'd pick one up if I was in the market, but I love my blue MacBook Air.

 

[boswald]

I think they knocked it out of the park. Yeah, there's limitations, but for the people this is targeting it's a solid option in a sea of cheap Chromebooks or Windows machines. Works with your iPhone, no viruses or ads, just a smooth machine.

 

[timber]

A 2 liter bottle of soda often costs less than a 20 oz. bottle. And that makes as much sense as the US using both liters and oz. But I think the anology holds up, it's solid... or liquid. idk. glhf.

Around here we have some 75cl water bottles that cost more than a 1,5 liter.
The 75 are "sport bottles" with a sort of drinking nozzle to make it nicer to drink while moving.
The bottle itself is worth more than what it carries.
And the 5 liter jugs aren't much more expensive, far from proportionally.

 

[underthere]

the camera is limited to 1080p so it's not quite as good as the camera Apple uses for more expensive MacBook models.

Other MacBooks go above 1080p?

 

[Graphikos]

Around here we have some 75cl water bottles that cost more than a 1,5 liter.
The 75 are "sport bottles" with a sort of drinking nozzle to make it nicer to drink while moving.
The bottle itself is worth more than what it carries.
And the 5 liter jugs aren't much more expensive, far from proportionally.

'round here we just lablel them in 'murica units! freedom units!

 

[BuddyRichT]

As far as the Video Call Test, video is passable but the audio sounded like you were far from the Mic. Not sure if that was just compared to your regular video audio levels or if it was filtering out the background noise and made the level sound lower. Overall I think this is a great product at just the right time.

 

[Dr McKay]

Other MacBooks go above 1080p?

Others have higher resolution sensors but it's only for centre stage so it can crop to focus on the user. Output is still only ever 1080p. Neo is a 1080p sensor hence the no centre stage.

 

[Elwe]

A 2 liter bottle of soda often costs less than a 20 oz. bottle. And that makes as much sense as the US using both liters and oz. But I think the anology holds up, it's solid... or liquid. idk. glhf.

Yes; this is at least because of these three items:
1) market forces. Competition for options between the two categories is often different.
2) ease of consumption or use.
3) variation of price across different points of sale because of available shelf space

With respect to a smartphone and entry laptop . . . people shouldn't forget the inclusion of:
A) better camera(s)
B) cellular capability
C) GPS
D) miniaturization cost (sometimes). In this case, this is more likely to do with necessary design and expertise in automated construction given the much more open space available in the Neo compared with a modern smartphone.
E) screen is better in a number of ways, including PPI resolution and color depth. It also is a touch screen.
F) FaceID

Small trucks, SUVs, and even large sedans can share the same base infrastructure--like Toyota and TNGA. But they are different products for different markets, and one should not be surprised that the end cost often varies quite a bit based on what each market demands.

 

[mysticmanix]

Looks nice for what it is. Gonna hold off for a year or two, and I bet they'll add the touchID and key backlighting as upgrades for free, like they did with the iphone 17e.

 

[montuori]

In terms of performance, the MacBook Neo has an A18 Pro chip and it's limited to 8GB RAM, but that's plenty for simple tasks like browsing the web, watching videos, editing documents, and doing homework.

This is kind of a weird way of describing what a general purpose computer can do. In addition to "simple tasks" it can, for instance: compile code, launch docker containers, host databases, and run an untold number of applications beyond this "simple tasks" pablum that keeps getting recycled. And it does these things really well, I have first hand experience. It has limitations -- like all hardware -- but perpetuating the myth that it's only good for a few trivial seeming activities is disingenuous and does readers a disservice.

Perhaps without actually using one this reporting made some sense. Now that they're available it seems like actually putting one through some paces (if anyone knows how to use a computer beyond generating useless benchmarks or encoding a video) would be appropriate. Actually reporting what works and what doesn't and not handwaving over things that are clearly not well understood.

 

[mcilwraith]

perfect for so many folks. teens, students, silver surfers. casual users. maybe just not us nerds on here! im sure we buy WAY more computer than we need.

 

[Graphikos]

Yes; this is at least because of these three items:
1) market forces. Competition for options between the two categories is often different.
2) ease of consumption or use.
3) variation of price across different points of sale because of available shelf space

With respect to a smartphone and entry laptop . . . people shouldn't forget the inclusion of:
A) better camera(s)
B) cellular capability
C) GPS
D) miniaturization cost (sometimes). In this case, this is more likely to do with necessary design and expertise in automated construction given the much more open space available in the Neo compared with a modern smartphone.
E) screen is better in a number of ways, including PPI resolution and color depth. It also is a touch screen.
F) FaceID

Small trucks, SUVs, and even large sedans can share the same base infrastructure--like Toyota and TNGA. But they are different products for different markets, and one should not be surprised that the end cost often varies quite a bit based on what each market demands.

I bet you are really fun at parties.

 

[Abydos]

sounds like a decent platform for code/algorthmic development. gamers, musicians, camera enthusiasts not so much. I'm hovering between this and a low end MBA, fyi memory is not the issue nor is backlit keyboard

 

[lambertjohn]

A good, cheap computer to get folks into the Apple ecosystem. Two thumbs up!

 

[MGrayson3]

So, a hands on with no hands on. Gotcha. It's like bait to get you to, I dunno, click or something. Wait! I'm wrong. Some tabs were opened. Ok. Objection withdrawn.

 

[switz]

Got to my local Apple Store at San Tan Village in Arizona around 11:15. Seeing the colors in person of the actual Neo units, I switched my color choice from Citrus 512 to Silver 512. There was a slow but steady flow of folks buying the Neo. I walked out with the silver Neo 512.

To my eyes, all four colors keyboards looked the same color.

Cancelled the ordered Citrus 512 Neo on the Apple on line store.